Canaries in the Sky
by InnocentDiamond
Summary: Golden canaries fly gracefully in the sky every time on her birthday, but what do they really mean? A boy claims to know where these canaries came from, but who's really letting the canaries fly? What will she discover in this suburban city that he takes her to?
1. Nineteen

_"Where are you going?"_

_Every time I tried to catch up to those canaries, they always fly away. If they're going to fly by my side, then why won't they let me go after them?_

_"Wait up!"_

_The canaries flew higher, and I was getting tired. My arms were sore from reaching, and my feet were in pain from running through this meadow. I knelt down to take a break._

_"Can you stop flying so far away?"_

_Miraculously, they descended and circled me. A warm feeling built up inside me as they flew gracefully. I've never felt so comfortable in my life before. It's like these canaries know something that I don't know about._

_"Why are you here?"_

_The canaries only appeared on that one special day, but I don't know the real reason why they're here. Suddenly, the prettiest canary among them all flew closer to me. I stretched my palm out for it to land, but..._

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**Alice's P.O.V.**

"Wake up!"

Frightened by the loud call, I immediately got up from my bed. I looked out the window to see the sun in the sky. The clock read 8:37 AM, and I rushed out of bed into the bathroom.

"Alice! Are you up yet?"

"Sorry, Aunt Clara! I guessed I slept in again."

"You bet you did. Your breakfast is getting cold."

I quickly brushed my teeth, groomed myself, and changed my clothes then ran downstairs to the kitchen. There was a bowl and a spoon in the sink, and Aunt Clara was reheating oatmeal. Looks like she ate breakfast already. I still don't know why I woke up later than usual today.

"Good morning. What did I miss besides breakfast?"

"Not much. Just eat your breakfast and water the garden."

As I scooped the rest of the oatmeal into my bowl, Aunt Clara added some pieces of apple and ground cinnamon to it. I found that really weird because she doesn't really add anything to my oatmeal.

"Here you go, Alice. Enjoy as much of that as you can."

"Okay."

As I ate my oatmeal, I thought back to that dream I had with the canaries. I don't always remember my dreams that well. Neither do I get dreams of anything else. Every time I dreamed of canaries, I always remember every single detail. I rarely see canaries in real life. When I do, they always appear on my birthday.

On my birthday, Aunt Clara just takes me out for dinner at some restaurant and orders a cake there along with candles or buys a cake at a local bakery to eat at home. Rarely do I get presents, but some new clothes, shoes, or toys from my friends are good enough.

Once I finished my breakfast, I put my bowl and spoon into the sink and went outside. Life in a semi-rural hillside isn't that bad. The climate and weather here makes growing your own fruit and vegetable garden really convenient, and we can air-dry out laundry instead of using a dryer.

"Alice! You want to play badminton with us?"

At the front of my house was Nene, followed by her brothers who carried a load of badminton gear. I grew up and went to school together with the three of them and others, from toddlers to little kids to teenagers. Almost everyone here has known each other for most of their life. Even Aunt Clara grew up as a child here with some other adults in the neighborhood.

"I'd love to. I need to water the garden first."

"Okay, then. We'll be waiting for you at the nets. Come on, you slackers!"

Shuji and Akira had the pain of having to put up with their younger sister's orders. I envied the fact that they always had someone to to play and argue with, but being an only child means that I don't have to argue with others.

"Alice, are you done watering the garden? It's getting really hot."

"Finished!" I put that watering can back and went to Aunt Clara, who stood at the front door. "Aunt Clara, may I play badminton with Nene?"

"Badminton? In this hot weather? I don't know."

"I'll drink lots of water and put on sunscreen. Please?"

"Fine. You know the routine."

"Yes! Thanks, Auntie!" I gave her a hug, who in return patted my head.

"Okay, Alice. I have to go to work now, and today's an overtime day for me. Remember what I told you, okay? Don't forget your house keys."

I waved her good bye and went upstairs to get my sunscreen. After applying, I took by knapsack, placed a few towels and bottles of water inside, took my house keys, and met up with Nene at the badminton nets.

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**Shun's P.O.V.**

This was the worst plan I ever heard of.

"I knew it. We shouldn't have done this in the first place.."

"I don't know why did it in the first place, either. What were we thinking?"

Adults arguing like this may be normal, but no. Their _topic_ wasn't normal. I have never heard anyone talk about this before in my life.

"Excuse me. Can you please get on with the main topic? I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on."

They sighed as the woman handed me a photo. "We're looking for this person. She's been missing for years. We've been searching everywhere for her."

"And we've asked a lot of other people for help, too." the man added. "Everyone keeps telling us that they failed. I can't blame them."

"Then why ask me for help if you've already asked other people? What makes me different from everyone else that tried?"

The woman sighed deeply, and I realized that I shouldn't have been so harsh with my reply. "Some people said that this girl was here in Bayview years ago, so we thought that asking you for clues is a start. What do you think?"

I looked closely at the photo and took note of that bright orange-yellow hair of that little girl. She was holding the hand of a person taller than her that got cut off. Her chocolate brown eyes stared to the right of the photo, where a cut-off bird cage stood.

And then I realized that something wasn't right about this picture.

"Sorry, but I can't help you. How old is this picture?"

The man turned the photo over and read the handwriting. "This was taken about fifteen years ago. She was only five."

"That makes everything even worse." I objected. "I'm just a teenager who lives in this neighborhood and attends college here. I should be focused on school rather than working on a cold case."

I covered my mouth after I said "cold case." They stared at me as if I was trying to curse them into being unsuccessful, but cold case was the first thing that came to my mind.

The woman spoke. "I understand that as a teenager, you're occupied with school and money. If you do this for us, we'll give you a sum of money to pay for your tuition fees. Is that okay?"

I don't know how I ended up talking about money, but all I wanted to say that I was _busy_.

"No, I can't. We barely even know each other aside from the fact that you're one of my professors' friends. That's it. Do you have any other useful evidence that I can use to help you find this girl? If not, then I need to go."

"Wait!" The woman pulled on my wrist to stop me. "Please, we'll do anything. This is last place that the girl was seen. Even if you were a child back then, at least help us find her! We'll give you all the money you-"

"Hold on. I'm not interested in money, but give me some time, and I'll try to retrace footsteps into finding this girl. But what is she to you?"

At first, I thought they were this girl's parents, but neither person mentioned that the girl was their daughter, and they don't look like her either. Plus, they looked too young to be parents of a teenager.

"She's important us. That's all." the man stated. "How much time do you need?"

"Enough time for me to catch up with my school work while I help you search this person. This will take a long time, so make yourselves comfortable."

"Okay, you've got a deal. Your name is Shun, right?"

"Shun Kazami."

"If you need to contact us, here's our info." The man ripped a piece of paper out of a notepad and gave it to me along with the photo. "Thank you so much. Have a nice day."

"Nice day to you, too, Mr. and Mrs. Larkins."

I wanted them to leave the cafe _so_ badly. Julie's probably mad that I occupied a table when she had customers that could put it to a better use. Now that I have to help the Larkins find this girl, I might as well get started.

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**Alice's P.O.V.**

I played a great game of badminton with Nene, Shuji, and Akira today. It was six in the afternoon already, and whether or not Aunt Clara was home, I had to be back before sundown. Since she was on overtime today, I'm in charge of making dinner tonight.

After dinner, I took my telescope with me to the roof to stargaze. Once I focused my telescope on Polaris, a shooting star suddenly flew across the sky. I gasped, put my hands together to my chest, and closed my eyes. "I wish I get to see those canaries again. Everyday."

Then I heard a silvery twittering sound that I know comes from only one place. It was the song of a canary, which meant that there were canaries nearby. "Hey! Where are you?"

"Down here."

For a minute, I panicked because I wasn't expecting a reply. I looked over the railing to see a boy about my age with black hair and amber eyes that I've never met before. He threw something into the air, and later, a golden canary flew toward me and landed gently on my hand.

"This is so beautiful. It's even prettier than the ones in my dream! But where do they come from? Why do they only appear on my birthday?"

"That's something that I won't be able to tell you within one night."

"What?"

"Faraway from the hillsides a place where you can find out the secrets behind these canaries and you."

Secrets? Behind me and the canaries? I really want to go to that place, but where is it? What is it like? I suddenly had this feeling that I _need_ to get out of this place. But what's more important is why this person is trying to help me. We were total strangers to each other, yet he knows about me and the canaries.

"Why are helping me? How will I know that I'll find what I really want to find?"

He pointed to me and said, "It's your nineteenth birthday. It's about time you found out the truth."

My nineteenth birthday...how special is that? Maybe it was time for me to leave this place. It sounds rebellious, but there are some questions that can't be easily answered if I stay here forever. I put my telescope back in my room, wrote a quick but detailed note to Aunt Clara, and met up with the boy outside.

"Where do we start?"


	2. Bound to Happen

**Alice's P.O.V.**

I woke up and found myself lying on a bed in someone else's room. A vertical sliding window was open and propped up with a box. The walls of the room were soft lemon yellow. I looked at the star-patterned bedsheets in confusion.

"You're awake."

A girl with turquoise-blue hair in pigtails walked in the door with a tray of food in her hands. "You must be hungry. I woke up early just to make you this breakfast. Would you like blueberry pancakes with syrup? If not, then there's apple cinnamon oatmeal downstairs. I could get you that."

"Oatmeal, please."

"Okay, then. Oatmeal for you, and pancakes for me. I'll be back."

I have no idea what's happening. I woke up yesterday, ate breakfast, watered the garden, played badminton, ate dinner, stargazed, and...I can't remember what happened after that. My head hurt as I thought about it. Then the girl came back with oatmeal.

"I almost forgot. You didn't brush your teeth yet." She handed me a cup, a toothbrush, a towel, and a comb. "Groom yourself first then eat. Meet me downstairs."

Downstairs? I looked out the window to see myself standing int eh second floor of a building. Then I went into the bathroom the girl pointed to and cleaned myself up. I still have no idea how I got here.

Then I remembered the canaries.

As I stargazed, a shooting star flew by, so I made a wish. Then canaries came by, along with a raven-haired boy. Everything else was a blur. I walked downstairs to see the girl in an apron eating pancakes behind the counter.

"Where am I?"

She looked up at me and drank a glass of juice. "There you are. Welcome to Misaki Diner. I'm Runo. My parents run this diner, and we live upstairs. That was the unused room you were in."

"Hi Runo." I looked around and saw empty tables and chairs. A couple of people already sat down to order breakfast. "How did I get here?"

"Shun brought you here late last night saying it was an emergency."

"Shun?"

"That guy with black hair and amber eyes."

That must be the person I saw yesterday night. "I see. But where is he now?"

"Don't worry. He and other people always stop by here for breakfast. Shun should be here right about-" A bell rang as a customer walked inside. "-now. Good morning, S-"

"That's not Shun."

Standing at the door was a brunette boy carrying a red duffel bag on his shoulder. "Runo, one carry-out of pancakes to go, please."

"Sure thing, Dan. Where's Shun?"

"Don't know. I have to teach the badminton students today, and I'm late."

"Oh." Runo tied the ears of the plastic bag and handed the bag to Dan. "Good luck."

"Thanks, Runo." Before he left, Dan glanced at me. "Who's that?"

"Alice Gehabich." I replied.

"So you're Alice," Dan replied as if he knew me. "Shun told me to tell you to go to meet him by the bridge down at-"

"Are you crazy?" Runo yelled. "She's new here. You might as well take her there since you're here already."

"Whatever. Let's go."

I waved goodbye to Runo and followed Dan outside. This is so confusing. I remember Shun telling me about a secret about the canaries and me learning the truth. But what truth is there? I just want to know why those canaries appear on my birthday and why I had dreams of them.

Yesterday was my birthday and the first one I _didn't_ celebrate with Aunt Clara.I hope she didn't go into panic from reading that note. I didn't mean any harm.

"So what brings you to Bayview?"

"Actually, Shun brought me here. "He said he had something important to show me."

"I see. I don't know if you'll get to see him again, though. He's been so busy lately that I only see him when chatting on the computer. I don't know what he's been doing lately."

"Busy with what?"

"Who knows? Julie, one of my friends, told me that he and two suspicious looking adults were talking at the diner two days ago. Looked like the man gave Shun a sepia photo. She also overheard that those people were friends of one of Shun's professors. They-"

"Professor? How old is Shun?"

"Nineteen. Anyway, Julie also said that they even talked about money."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"If you're paranoid about scams, then yes. But he wouldn't do that. After that day, I have never seen Shun work so hard in his life. Either he encountered something very important or the suspicious people bribed him with money. I hope it's the first choice. By the way, where are you staying?"

"I don't know. Maybe at Runo's for now."

"Do you parents know you're here?"

"Of course," I lied. "They know that I'm here and where I stayed."

"You still have the rest of the day. You're a really nice person. Aside from that weird task, I hope Shun helps you with whatever you need to the best of his ability. Let's be friends."

"Sure, I'd love to. Are you in college?"

"Yeah. So are Runo, Julie, and others. We grew up together in Wardington, but due to some disaster a decade and half ago, the government issued us all to move here."

That phrase made me feel uneasy. If they all grew up together, that means they're close friends with each other. How am I supposed to fit in? Shun, Dan, and Runo may be the only people I'm going to be friends with around here. Maybe I should've have left after all.

"Oh. So where am I supposed to go?"

"Here." He pointed to a stone bridge just ahead. "If you need me. I'll be over on the other side at the badminton courts. I have to teach kids how to play badminton."

"Badminton?" I thought of how Nene, Shuji, Akira, and I used to play badminton. "Can I watch? Pretty please?"

"Just stay close to the bridge in case Shun arrives."

Finally, something fun to do here. I watched Dan and a silver-haired girl teach students how to use their rackets to hit the birdie properly. I wanted to join them so badly, but I can't go far from the bridge.

According to Dan, Shun met up with two weird people two days ago. Yesterday, he came to my house and talked to me. A normal person would'nt do this. But still, no one ever has done me a favor like this. I'm surprised that Shun even knows me. Could those two people have told something important to Shun or asked him to do something for them? If so, then what was it?

You know, I've always wondered what happened to my parents...

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**Shun's P.O.V.**

I read the newspaper as I walked down the path. The wind blew in my face, and the crumpled quality of the paper made it hard for me to read. Thank goodness I arrived at the bridge. I stuffed the newspaper away and went over to tap her shoulder.

"Sorry for making you wait to late." Alice turned around to looked at me, and saw that she was watching Dan and Julie teach the students how to play. "I see you like badminton. Why don't we go for a walk?"

She stood up and replied, "Sure. Why not? I like badminton, but I didn't feel like playing with them, and Dan told me to wait for you by the bridge. By the way, how did I get here? You were only by yourself when you came to my house."

"That's a long story. I had to walk you out to a vehicle that was parked kind of faraway. By then, you were tired and sleepy, so you slept in the car. But honesty, did you _have_ to sleep on my shoulder?"

"I don't remember, but if I did, I apologize for the hassle. Why _did_ you bring me here?"

"Something important that will affect you for the rest of your life."

"But how do you know about it? How did you know where I live?"

"Intuition."

"I'm serious. We don't even know each other, yet you're helping me with something crucial of mine. What is it?"

"I can't tell you yet."

"Why not? Is it because of the people you were talking to at Runo's dinner?"

How did she know so much about us when this is only her first day here? "Nonsense. Those people were some of my professors' friends who wanted to offer me some extracurricular classes. Did Dan tell you that?"

"I had to ask him. How else am I going to know about you guys? He said that all of you are friends with each other. I don't belong."

She's right. The only choice Alice had was to stay here and make friends until I could tell her the truth. "Sometimes, you have to adapt to new things that were meant to be there for you since the beginning.

"So I'm going to have to come to Bayview either way someday?"

"It's a just a matter of time. There's no way of getting away from them no matter how far you stay away. It's inevitable."

Alice having to come to Bayview someday is as inevitable as the Larkins meeting up with me someday. I should be telling myself the same thing that I just told Alice. She won't understand anything yet, but everything will be all worth it afterwards. Even I don't understand everything yet. I'm still piecing pieces of information together, but I haven't found anything interesting yet. The newspaper article I was trying to read had something important, though.

"It's night already? That was fast." Alice commented. I looked up at the sky to see a vast of darkness speckled by stars and a moon. "What a beautiful night sky. I'm surprised that I can see the sky so well in this city. Even with the light pollution, it's better than how I see the night sky back at home. I love the yellow loveliness."

"Those aren't the only things yellow here." I replied. Alice turned her head and looked at me strangely. "It's true. Look up."

Up in the sky was not only the twinkling stars and full moon, but also flock of canaries flying wherever they pleased.

"This is beautiful! How did you get these canaries to fly here?" A canary feather descended on her hand. "This is for real."

"I didn't. They fly here all the time. This is their home, in the city of Bayview."

Alice gasped in excitement, but from her eyes I could tell that she was filled with shock. It was obvious that I was implying something with my words and tone, but it didn't matter.

But what _did_ matter was making an inevitable event happen earlier than it's supposed to happen.


	3. Spring Days

**Runo's P.O.V.**

Tomorrow is our 14th annual Festival of Spring in Bayview. Some people were very excited about it, but I wasn't because my family is hosting it. It's a good thing Dan and the others are helping.

"Where do I place the centerpieces?"

"Aside for now, but every table will need one, Julie."

"When are the seating charts coming in?"

"Not until everyone sends me their RSVP, Marucho."

"What kind of pies are we baking?"

"Dan, will please not think about food for once?!" Later, Shun entered the door, followed by Alice. "Hey! What's up?"

"Not much. Is there anything to do? Alice and I are unoccupied right now."

"Everything's covered already., to my surprise We just-" The phone rang, and I went to answer it. "Hello?...Yes, it is...Right now? Sure. I'll send someone over." I hung up and asked, "Shun, could you do me a favor? Go to the post office to pick up a delivery under my parents' names."

"Uh, okay then, I guess. Come on, Alice. Bye, Runo."

"See you later, Runo."

Looking at Shun and Alice leave the diner together, a feeling of unease fell upon me. Seeing them together made me feel uncomfortable yet relieved. Alice just came to Bayview recently, and he's really obsessed with her.

"Runo," Dan tapped my shoulder. "Did you just see that?"

"Absolutely. Alice just came here a couple days of ago, and Shun's been all over her You get what I mean?"

"Of course!. Just by looking at them, I can't tell something's going on. I don't know if I should be happy for Shun or not. At least he's looking less stressed." Dan had a point. Shun' been stressed these couple of days, and Alice's arrival _did_ lighten his load. Maybe we should just leave them alone.

"You're right. Anyway, let's go back to work." I'm so glad to have Dan by my side. Sometimes he can be annoying and obnoxious, but it's not that bad.

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**Shun's P.O.V.**

Alice and I went to the post office to pick up the package. For the entire walk, we were silent, until Alice asked me a peculiar question that she's been asked for a while now. "Shun, can you tell me more about the canaries and why you brought me here?"

"Well, the canaries you see actually make their home here in Bayview, but they travel to where you live every year for migration purposes, I think. I brought you here so you can find out for yourself the secret behind them."

"But I don't know where to start..."

"I'll tell you this. There were canaries in the sky on the night you were born."

"But how do you know?"

That was something I couldn't talk about _just_ yet. "How about this? You can start by participating in this year's Festival of Spring. Although Runo has everything covered, I was wondering if you'd want to be a part of the entertainment team?"

"Entertainment team?" She hesitated for a moment and replied, "What's in it?"

"So far, we have a rock band, a comedian unit, and dancing in general. If you know how to sing, we always have a space for one more."

Again, she hesitated, but she shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm not a good singer. I'd prefer to be a waitress instead."

"But Alice, Runo is already the waitress with her other friends. Don't you want to do something better than that? It's actually not all that fun being a waitress."

"I really don't want to be on the entertainment team, Shun. I'm not that good at performing." She stopped and opened the door for me.

"Thanks, but I'm telling you this. Performing onstage will actually make people know you more, and you want to have friends here, don't you? But if you really want to be a waitress, you can ask Runo." I talked to the clerk and told her my request. She then came back from the back with a parcel. "Come on. Let's go."

On our way out, Alice tugged my sleeve. "Thanks for respecting my opinion."

I don't know why Alice suddenly said that, but mutual respect is a good start. "You're welcome. I must say, you do have a lot of priority over everything here."

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**Alice's P.O.V.**

"Partner up! It's dancing time!"

Today is the 10th annual Festival of Spring for everyone and the first one for me. Under Shun's request, Runo let me be one of the waitresses, and everybody's likes me. I was afraid that I wouldn't fit in, but Runo, Chan, and Mira helped me with the routines. I stood behind the counter and watched the staff and guests form groups of two for square dancing or something.

"Aren't you going to dance?" asked someone. I turned to see Runo placing her tray on the counter. "If you don't mind, I need you managing everything else while I go dancing."

"With who?"

"No one else other than me!" Dan walked up to the counter with his grand greeting. "I always dance with Runo every year."

"Only because there's no one else to dance with!" She untied and hung her apron on a hook. "If you want to dance, just get someone else to take over."

"It's okay. I don't plan on dancing anyway." It wasn't that I don't plan on dancing, but it was that I was to scared to ask. Everyone's already in partners, but Chan, whose partner Joe was out to get something from somewhere, stood with me and watched.

"You look like the type of person who has talent. Why aren't you out there dancing or singing?" Chan asked.

"I really don't want to do anything other than-"

"Alice, there you are!" Shun appeared out of nowhere in front of me. "I had no idea the dance started, and everyone's out their already. May I have this dance?"

I looked at Chan, who held her palm up. "Why not? I'll take over."

"Um...okay then."

I removed my apron hung it up next to Runo's. Shun took me to the center of the makeshift dance floor. He took both of my hands and taught me how to ballroom dance. I was scared about tripping or stepping on his or someone else's foot, but it went smoothly. The musicians played a sweet song that was easy to dance to.

"It's been a long time since I danced at the Festival of Spring."

"How long?"

"A little more than ten years. I was about five or six back then, during the last Festival of Spring back in Wardington. Then we moved here."

I felt bad for him for never being able to dance again. Coincidentally, he happened to choose me to dance with him. Somehow, the way he held my hands as we danced felt nostalgic, but why? I danced with Aunt Clara before back at home, but never with someone like Shun. It's really difficult to explain this feeling.

"Thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen! Onto our next performance."

I didn't realize dance was over already. I let go of Shun's hands and went to get my apron. Hopefully, no one saw the blush on my face. As I tied my apron, someone burst out of the back door.

"Terrible news!" Runo panicked. "Our lead singer tonight had a food allergic reaction to something, and she can't perform! We need a substitute now! Who has a good voice?"

"Alice does." said Shun out of the blue. Everyone stared at me unbelievingly. Mira and Julie whispered to each other, and Runo shrugged her shoulders.

"If you think you can do it, be my guest. The band is going to play **Shortcake**_._ Do you know that song?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now take the microphone and go on stage." Runo shoved me onstage as the audience awaited my performance. "Everyone, our special guest singer tonight is Alice Gehabich! A warm welcome, please!"

"Hey! You're the nice waitress that I met earlier!"

"Oh my God, it's you! I can't wait to hear your voice!"

"You can do it!"

Met with the compliments of the crowd, I felt more confident. I find it a coincidence that Runo or someone had selected this song to be performed here today. **Shortcake** is one of my favorite songs, and it talks about growing up and childhood friendships, which reminded me of my childhood and friendships.

After **Shortcake** was over, Runo came up to and whispered something. I nodded and announced, "Next song will be be a hyper one. Get ready for AKB48's **Give Me Five!**" Another one of my favorite songs. This time, I couldn't resist _not_ being the main vocalist. Runo, Chan, Mira, and many others joined me onstage to perform this one.

I've never been this happy in my life before.

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**Julie's P.O.V.**

Alice turned out to be a rocking singer after all. She saved the show from going bad. Throughout the whole evening and night, I took photos to document the event for photo albums. I asked Runo for photo albums of previously held events to see what photos of this year I should keep or dump.

"What's that?" Alice walked over to see the photo album. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, back when I was still a 3-foot toddler. I miss my childhood days."

"Me, too." She flipped a few pages forward but stopped on a specific page. "Who is that? I don't remember seeing anyone who looks like this tonight."

"Oh. These photos are from back in Wardington, _before _the disaster. Honestly, even _I_ don't know who that was."

Now that Alice mentioned it, I took a closer look at those photos. Most of them were black-and-white or sepia, and the only details I could make were that the person Alice pointed to was a little girl of five with long, bright hair. Next to her in most of them was Shun. That's strange. Alice only got here, and she points out pictures featuring someone with the person who brought her here. I looked up to see two people coming.

"You're Alice, right?" the woman asked. She seemed familiar, but I don't remember from where. "That was an awesome show you put on! Will you be doing it for next year?"

"I don't know. Depends on whether or not I'm still staying here."

"You don't live here?" the man asked.

"Nope. A friend brought me over to stay for some time, and I only appeared on stage because our original singer had an allergic reaction."

The sudden allergic reaction was really weird. We've always kept record on everyone's food choices and allergies, but how could we miss that? I continued looking through today's photos.

"I know it sounds cheesy, but may I take a photo with you and your autograph? You were just _awesome_." the woman complimented.

"Sure. Why not." replied Alice. The man took his camera out and snapped a picture, and the woman took the instantly-developed print and handed it to Alice to sign. "Your camera is so cool."

Suddenly, Shun rushed over and swept the couple aside. "Sorry, but we need this time to clean up the diner, so please excuse yourselves."

"Oh, it is?" asked the man. "My bad. Seeing that you were still _having fun_, I thought it wouldn't hurt to come buy to chat. Let's go, honey."

The couple glared at Shun for some reason, and then I remembered where I saw them before. They were the same people whom Shun was talking to in this very dinner the other day! The way he emphasized her words was mean, and something tells me they want something to do with Alice...but why?


	4. Remembering the Remains

******Co-updated with Bonds of the Briar.**

* * *

**Me: The first thing I saw this morning when I went outside to see was the special delivery guy with my package of all 5 copies of Mayuyu's "Rappa Renshuuchuu" all the way from Japan. Yes, my mail gets here really early. I have never been this crazy about music CDs before!**

**Marucho: And there will be more coming when you go to Japan.**

**Me: Oh yeah! I get to buy Utsukushii Inazuma, Symphogear CharaSong #1, Vitalization, & Next Destination. All Japanese music CDs. Review responses.**

Cup of Violet Tea - Well, everyone feels like they want to avoid work at some moment. What's wrong with being a waitress? Shortcake is also kind of bland for me, too. You actually rewrote it? I wish JKT & SNH would cover Give Me Five some day. ;-;

CookieDecor22 - You do? Yeah, I actually made it up along the way, & some year numbers might be fixed over & over again. I wouldn't say obsession, but it is kind of not normal. Popularity pays, right?

pooch pooch - Mysterious? I never thought of that. There's actually a lot more Shun has to show Alice before the photo come back in.

MagicxMusicxMelody - The package itself isn't important, but getting it from the post office buys time for S&A to chat. Yup, that's their name, & I guarantee they'll be back.

**Me: Shoot. I can't buy Koisuru Fortune Cookie or Symphogear CharaSongs #4 & #6 because I'll be home from vacation then. Back to digital downloads.  
**

**Dan: What's the point of buying CDs if you can just download the music?**

**Me: Because I want to raise the CD ratings on the Oricon charts. Other news. I plan on publishing Reteaching Life in August & another story sometime soon, mainly because I, uh...misplaced my summer reading book. **

**D&R: How could you?**

**Marucho: She finished her reading already, so we're all good.**

**Me: Once that book is back, that is. I may have memorized most of the book, but I really want it back! x_x Whatever. On with the chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Remembering the Remains  
**

**xXx**

**Alice's**** P.O.V.**

As I brushed by hair and teeth to get ready for bed, I thought about the nice couple who asked to take a picture of me and get my autograph. I feel like I've met them before, but I don't know where. Looking at their sudden enthusiasm, something tells me that they didn't plan on doing that until I came up on stage. At least I have a couple of fans here.

"Alice, can we talk?" I immediately dropped my hairbrush because the voice scared me. "Did I scare you?"

"Shun! Shouldn't you know better than to walk into a bathroom when someone's inside?"

"Well, the lights are on, but the door is open. You know the couple that asked for your picture and autograph? I don't like them. You should stay away from them."

"But looked nice. They even liked my singing, even though I'm new here and not so good with my vocals."

"But-"

"No 'buts'! Shun, I just want to fit in, and I just made my first two fan out there. Can't you let things be my way for once?" I have been the center of Shun's attention lately. Maybe telling him what I think about that couple wouldn't hurt. "Actually, I think I might know those people. I _might _have met them _somewhere_. I just can't make a picture out of it."

"You have?" All of sudden, Shun walked closer and hugged me tightly. "Please, in courtesy of me, stay away from them. Those people are up to no good."

"How do you know?"

"Don't ask. There are some people that will do everything to get on your good side to achieve their goals. Just promise me to stay here and don't go far without anyone's permission. Please?"

I pushed his hands away and picked up the hairbrush. "I will, but you're going a lot of explaining to do about why you brought me here and how all this is related to my family and me." It was the same question that I've been asking for a long time. The repetition and redundancy even makes me want to stop asking, but I can't.

"I understand. Get up early at seven tomorrow. I'm taking you somewhere. By the way, when you have the time, go downstairs and look at the photo albums of previous Festivals of Spring."

"Seven? Where are you taking me? And I looked through the albums already."

"That, I'll tell you tomorrow. Look through the 49th Festival of Spring album and the ones in the later years are from Wardington. Good night, Alice."

"Good night, Shun." If only I knew what he was thinking every time we talked...

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**Julie's ****P.O.V.**

"Hold it right there, mister!"

I turned around to see Shun about to walk out the door and grabbed him. He flipped his arm over and made me lose my grip. How stupid of me using a simple grab to stop a guy who's had years of ninja training. He glared at me and asked, "What was that for?"

I moved closer and spoke in a low voice. "You better not deny this. I saw you chatting with two people a couple days ago, and one of them handed you some money and an old photo. Today, those people people were back and were onto Alice. I don't know wha you're doing with that couple or Alice, but you need to come clean."

Shun stared at me blankly, an obvious sign of guilt and trying to come up with a lie. "Fine. I will. This what you're going to do. You can't tell Alice any of this, or else she'll be mad-"

"Aha! Of course she'll be mad. I'm not stupid. What else?"

"This is my final decision. If you ever see them again, either stay away from or get rid of them. If they're anywhere near Alice, then use twice the effort needed to get rid of them."

"But why? Weren't you three getting along nicely the other day?"

"Not anymore. Alice is my top priority here. Don't tell this to Dan or Runo. Just...protect Alice for me when I'm not around."

"But Shun, why me? Alice is staying in Runo's house. Wouldn't it be more suitable for-"

"You're the only one who's confronted me about this. Let me guess, I owe you something for knowing my secret. Go ahead."

"Everything that has to do with this predicament! I want to be involved and helping you."

Shun waved his hand and walked outside. "Thanks, Julie. Maybe next time. I'll keep you posted, though."

"Bye." I stuck my tongue out when he wasn't looking. Sometimes Shun acts like a jerk around secrets, but I understand why. I went back to the counter to pack my stuff but saw Alice flipping through the photo albums. "Alice! What brings you down here?"

"Shun told me to look through the photo albums more clearly, especially the 49th Festival of Spring album and the ones beyond were from Wardington. I don't know why."

"Wardington only? Forty-ninth year? The beige ones are Bayview, and the 49th year was the first album in my possession, so look through-" I paused as I stared wide-eyed at the remaining albums. "-_all_ the _brown_ albums."

Back in Wardington, my parents took pictures of every Festival of Spring and put them into albums, but I only kept the ones from the 49th Festival and after because that was when I and a lot of my friends. first participated. We were only zero to almost a year old at that time. We all stopped after 55th was complete because that was then the disaster hit Wardington. Everyone moved to Bayview, and we started at 1st again.

"Really? He could've just said all the brown albums." Alice flipped through the 49th Festival album, then the 50th, then 51st, and so on. I just realized that the second photo in all the Wardington albums in my possessions were a panorama group picture of all the kids, including me. "There's that person again."

Alice was right. The girl that was in every picture with little kid Shun appeared again and also stood next to Shun again. "This is driving me nuts. Why can't I remember who she was? Maybe my older sister Daisy knows something."

As I waited for Alice to finish looking, I saw the couple who was talking to Alice earlier outside. Shun told me to beware of them, so I walked over to a table, sat down, and eavesdropped to the best of my ability.

"He just kicked us out! What does he think he's doing?"

"Maybe he didn't mean it, honey. He _was_ in front of all his friends, though. I can understand the embarrassment. You didn't have to yell at him."

"I was teaching a lesson of keeping promises and deals. Maybe he suddenly changed his mind. I want to know if she's the one."

"We'll find out soon. Oh, look. The bus is here. Let's go."

Once the couple left, I left the seat and back to Alice. Could they be talking about Shun and Alice? Now I understand why Shun's so worried. Alice closed all the Wardington albums and returned them to me. "Thanks! I didn't find anything else other than the mysterious girl who's always with Shun back then but isn't here now."

"You're welcome, and don't stress over that problem. I need to go now. Bye Alice."

After hearing that conversation, I desperately needed to find Shun. But first, going home, putting these heaving albums away, and asking Daisy about that girl was more important. What also intrigued me was why Shun specifically told Alice to look deeper into the 49th Warding album to the last Warding album. What was so special about 49th to final and Wardington?

**~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~**

**Nobody's**** P.O.V.**

"I don't know you were the biker type of person."

"That's because you still don't know me very well."

Alice got off the backseat of Shun's bike as he rolled it by hand while walking. "What is this place? It's so destroyed. And where are we? How did you possibly bike here?"

"That road was a special route built a long time ago for convenience. We're in Wardington, the remains to be exact. A disaster stuck fourteen years ago."

"So this is Wardington. Dan told me that once, but didn't go into detail. What happened?"

"It started as an earthquake that broke many gas pipes and caused massive explosions. Even I don't want to go into detail. The government paid all reparations and costs needed to move into Bayview."

"But it's been at least ten years. How come this place is still rubbish?"

"Repairing, rebuilding, and reinforcing gas pipes on a fault line takes a long time. If you think this is rubbish, then you should see Wardington Central. Get on." Once Alice got on the backseat, Shun pedaled down the road into downtown. "See? Also, not _everyone_ moved to Bayview, but that was the closest place to go to for the time being."

_Not everyone. Maybe the girl in the picture didn't move to Bayview, and they were only toddlers back then. No wonder Julie doesn't remember._ Alice looked around and noticed a building up on a hill. "What's that? It looks like it only got hit recently."

"That? A successful scientist moved and lived in there a couple decades ago with his family. He had a lot of children, who lived, grew up, and got jobs here. Some got married, and only one couple had children: a daughter. I think she used to play with us, but I forgot what her name was."

_Maybe that's the girl in the photographs. _"His entire family moved here in that house?"

"In the beginning, yes, but some moved out eventually, not sure if they went to Bayview or not. The scientist was a part-time firefighter, and he died on the job while trying to save his granddaughter and other children." Shun pointed to a huge hole in the ground. "His granddaughter's parents also died, in what used to be a company building there. Now it doesn't exist."

"Oh my. This _is _sad. She's an orphan now, isn't she?"

"Yeah. No one knows where she went. Funny thing is that all but two of the scientist's _living_ children fought over who inherited what because the will was destroyed. That child was the unmarried daughter, and no one knows where she went, either. The other daughter was out of town. People said she returned to Russia or Poland. Not important."

"I'm Russian."

"But not Polish."

Shun stopped his bike in front of a burnt and broken Oriental building. "I miss this place. This used to be a training dojo and my house as well. My grandfather, father, mother, and I used to live here. My mother passed away of illness, and my father died while visiting her in the hospital that later collapsed. Now I live with only my grandfather."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm an orphan, too. My parents died in a second honeymoon cruise trip out in the seas." She put her hand on Shun's shoulder, who immediately held her hand tightly, making Alice tense up.

Shun stared at Alice but pedaled again. "Why don't we check out the scientist's house? There's a lot of time left."

"Sure. I actually don't want to go back yet."

As Shun rode his bike uphill, he felt angry yet confused. _Died in a second honeymoon cruise trip? How on earth did she come up with that to tell Alice? Looks like this attempt to bring her memories back didn't work. Maybe going to the house will do. _Shun parked his bike by a lightpost and went inside with Alice.

* * *

**Me: Someone said there was a World War II reference in here, but I swear, I did not do anything of the like in here!**

**Dan: Seriously? Who said that?**

**Runo: Russia & Poland.**

**Marucho: Forget that this was ever mentioned at all. Shun knows how to ride a bike?!  
**

**Dan: I must've taught him that.**

**Runo: Geez, & I thought you two always argued when you were little kids.**

**Me: TOTALLY. I think I actually threw myself offtrack here. I'm not going to say anymore now other than to please leave a review.**

**Dan: And if she's nice enough, she'll do PM replies explaining everything.**

**R&M: IF, Dan. IF.**

* * *

_Mayu Watanabe - __During Trumpet Practice_


End file.
